The British Cemetery Montevideo
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The British Cemetery Cementerio Británico | |
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Details | |
Established | 1828 |
Location | |
Country | Uruguay |
Coordinates | 34°54′02″S 56°07′45″W / 34.90056°S 56.12917°W |
Type | private |
Website | Website |
Find a Grave | The British Cemetery Cementerio Británico |
The British Cemetery of Montevideo (Spanish: Cementerio Británico) is one of the oldest operating cemeteries in Uruguay.
History
This land, now on Central Avenue, was known as the Cementerio de los Ingleses as during the failed British invasions of the River Plate a battle took place there on 20 January 1807, known as the Battle of Cardal, against forces of Vazquez Feijoo and where several British soldiers were killed. Their comrades buried their bodies on the land on which they had fallen. Shortly afterwards on 3 February, the Battle of Montevideo and for one month the city was occupied by the British till they were defeated in Buenos Aires and had to definitively withdraw from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
On 24 October 1818 a Portuguese resident of the Cordon area of Montevideo, Padre don Manuel Salinas took possession of a piece of "unoccupied" land situated in the centre of the city on the site of the present "Intendencia", that was donated to him, during the occupation of Montevideo by the Portuguese Government, by the then Governor Lecor, Viscount of Laguna. On 30 September 1825 Padre Salinas sold and transferred the land to a British resident, John Hall, for the sum of $400. On 14 April 1828 the British Consul in Montevideo, Mr Thomas Hood bought the land from John Hall in the name of the British government, and it is from this date that the British Cemetery became more formally recognised.
This cemetery initially was a
On 1 January 1879 a decree was passed prohibiting burials within the Cemetery, with a few exceptions due to an outbreak of
In 1888 the railings and a water well were constructed. The first Burial in the New British Cemetery was that of a German citizen by the name of Nicolas Laukant on 9 April 1885. Cristian Schenzer, who was the caretaker of the Cemetery at the time, was contracted to carry out the onerous task of transferring the remains of bodies interred in the old cemetery and their corresponding monuments to the new site. This was done between 13 October 1887 and 4 February 1888.[1]
In the year 1897 the British Community decided to build a
Upon the death of Queen Victoria, on 22 January 1901, the British Community in Uruguay decided to raise funds to build a monument in her honour. F. Pozer & Company constructed an obelisk with grey granite from the hills near Minas, 8 metres high, with the inscription "Victoria, Queen and Mother of her People". The monument was inaugurated at 3pm on Sunday 10 August 1902. The ceremony was led by the Walter Baring – British Minister & Consul General at Montevideo, Reverend Basil Cobbett and the President of the British Society W. Galway accompanied by 6 sailors from HMS Basilisk. The monument still stands in its original position within the entrance to the Cemetery.[2]
At a meeting of the British Cemeteries Society held on 13 February 1908, Mr. J.J. Hore, then Honorary Treasurer of the Society, brought forward a scheme for the establishing of a British School in Montevideo, for those children whose parents could not afford to send them for their education abroad. The proposal was eventually carried through, and the then Rector of the Anglican Church, Rev. Alpass, who had educational experience, was instructed that whilst in England he should obtain the services of a headmaster and teacher for the projected school. He was also instructed to purchase the required furniture and books for the school. Apart from paying Assisted Education for various children once the School was installed in calle Salsipuedes (now Blanes), the British Cemetery Society made the School a grant of $5,000 for a period of three years, and that it should be continued until such time that the school could pay its own way. When the School moved from calle Blanes to 18 de Julio continued assistance was granted. From there the British School decided to build their own property, and in this respect purchased land in Pocitos, where the School was built. Edward, the Prince of Wales laid the Foundation Stone in 1925. The Cemetery Society guaranteed and paid all the mortgage interest on the property built in Jose B. Lamas, on the condition that on the Board of the British Schools Society there should always be two members of the British Cemetery Society until such time as the final payment of the mortgage on the property had been made.
During 1910 the British Hospital decided to vacate their old premises on the street Juan Lindolfo Cuestas, and build a new hospital in Avenida Aldea (now Avenida Italia), where it stands today, and known as the Edward VII Hospital. The total investment for the construction was $60000, and it was made out in debentures. The British Cemetery Society had to guarantee the 6% interest on these debentures. As the British Community could not meet the total $60000, the British Cemetery Society had to absorb one third. Also, some years later, when the extension to the Edward VII Hospital was made, of what were called the new wings, the British Cemetery Society granted a further loan, which covered 40% of this construction at a low interest rate.
In the year 1945 when practically all the British public utility works were sold to the Uruguayan Government the then Presidents of the various British Societies together with their committees decided to sell out, as they thought that it could be the end of a British Community in this country. Consequently, the Victoria Hall, the Old English Club and Montevideo Cricket Club sold out.
In accordance with the statutes of the Society, at the end of every financial year, if there is a profit in the running of the Society the same is disbursed amongst medical entities.
Types of crosses
Distinct styles of monuments are to be found within the Cemetery, reflecting the wide variety of nationalities and religious groups which are represented.
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Latin Cross
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Latin Cross, with lilies
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Stepped Cross, with Anchor
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Crucifix
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Celtic Cross
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Russian Orthodox cross
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Bottonee Cross
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Wooden Cross
Notable burials
Soldiers, sailors and airmen
The British Cemetery contains the graves of quite a number of soldiers, sailors and airmen of different nationalities, although the majority are of British descent. Some served with the Armed Forces, and others are from merchant ships that were in the River Plate area at the time. A few of these ships are well known to the general public, such as the Royston Grange or the Achilles, which was involved in the "Battle of the River Plate".[3]
Various United States Marines are buried here.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
- Frederick Crocker (1821–1911). American naval commander and US consul
Personalities
Arts
- Hector Sgarbi (1905–1982). Painter
- Carlos Sabat Ercasty (1887–1982). Poet
- Armonía Somers (1914–1994). Pseudonym of Uruguayan writer Armonía Liropeya Etchepare Locino
- Carla Witte (1889–1943). German artist
- Miguel Óscar Patrón Marchand (1943–2010). Orchestra conductor
Sports
- LPGA major golf championships
- Peñarol Football Club
- William Leslie Poole (1866–1931). English teacher at the "English High School" Montevideo. Played football in Albion Football Club, known as the "Father of Uruguayan Football"
Business
Newspapers
- William Huskinson Denstone (1867–1925). Owner and editor of The Montevideo Times
- Thomas Havers (1810-1870). Businessman, architect and Director of Public Works in Montevideo[11]
Others
- Samuel Fisher Lafone (1805–1871). English businessman
- Thomas Tomkinson (1804–1879). English businessman
Religious
- Archbishop Nicolas Solovey (1877–1953)
Others
- Iwan Lukjanowitsch Solonewitsch (1891–1953). Russian writer, thinker, journalist and social activist
See also
- British Cemetery Montevideo Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen
- British Cemetery, Buenos Aires
- Early UK ambassadors to Uruguay
Notes
- ^ The history of the Cemetery was taken from notes collected by Sir Robert Jackson, President of the British Cemetery Society during many years.
- ^ Use has also been made of an article in "El Plata", newspaper published in Montevideo on 26 February 1934.
References
- ^ Diario "El Plata", published Montevideo, 05/03/1934, p. 7
- ^ The Montevideo Times, 8 August 1902
- ^ "Remembrance Day". Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "War veterans honored: "Thank you for your Sacrifice"". Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "The Embassy commemorates Memorial Day in Montevideo". Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "/". Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "/". Archived from the original on 17 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "/". Archived from the original on 17 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "Memorial Day Commemoration". Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "/". Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ The English In South America Michael George Mulhall, Standard Printing Office, Buenos Aires, and E. Stanford, London, 1878